I’ve been meaning to post an article about the “experience gift” for over a year, since I love the idea of giving an activity as a gift. Some of you may remember the skyÂ glidingÂ gift or theÂ PhotoÂ sessionÂ gift, since I blogged about them. However, today I want to talk about the “experience gifts” I didn’t write about, the ones that striked out.

I had a great gift idea for some of my more creative friends, a certificate for a craft class of some sort or another.Â I thought I had it all planned out: I arranged for a certificate with the art studio, made sure it was geographically close to theÂ receiver, paid in advance for the class and gave the certificate as a gift. What I failed to understand is human nature toÂ postponedÂ unpleasantÂ tasks such as calling toÂ scheduledÂ anÂ appointmentÂ (Which always feels kind ofÂ awkward). This is what happened to the friends whoÂ receivedÂ a gift certificate for a class or a dinner from me. They were really excited about the gift, but never fully redeemed it. Thinking about it, I Â myself,Â receivedÂ a dinner certificate more than six months ago, and I still haven’tÂ usedÂ it. I was trying toÂ understandÂ why this came to be and I think I got it figured out. I would like to share with you some tips that would help you to successfully give an “experienceÂ gift”. I believe these tips would make the difference between a certificate sitting in aÂ drawerÂ and anÂ unforgettableÂ experience.

Tip number 1: Know your friend

Who is your friend? What kind of person is s/he? wellÂ organized? Has a lot of time? Social orÂ independent?Â Bottom line, If you give this person a certificate would it sit in a drawer with all the other piles of things to do or will that person put it to use. Let me tell you that most people, including myself, would probably forget about itÂ untilÂ it’s to late, even if it’s the most amazingÂ experience on the face of the earth. This is just the way people are. Don’t give a certificate unless you areÂ absolutelyÂ positive that this person would use it.

Setting a time and place is very important. Once a person is invited to a specific time and place, he is more likely to arrive, as apposed to an open invitation that he may or may not choose to take.

Tip number 3: Make an event out of it

Planning the gift as an event is the best way to make sure the gift isÂ fulfilled. You can invite a few friends, or have a privet birthday “date”. By planning an event or meeting you are making it very hard for the person not to come.Â This is the reasonÂ why the sky gliding and photo session worked, they planedÂ as events, and sharing the experience with my friends was just an added bonus.

I can’t believe that this is my 100th post! I was saving one of my DIY projects just for such a joyful occasion, though I mustÂ admit that I almost didn’t notice that I hit 100 posts. It was a real surpriseÂ realizingÂ that I did,I guess it’s kind of like forgetting that it’s your birthday.

So here it is a special DIY project that I call: Our friendship in a nutshell.

There areÂ severalÂ reasons that this post is very dear to me. First, it was a gift to my oldest and dear dear friend. Second, I came up with this sweet idea all by my little self. Third, I wasn’t sure I’ll be able to actually make this gift, so you can imagine how excited I was to see that it came out real nice.

The idea is based on the phrase “In a nutshell” which refers toÂ describing something using as few words as possible. The idea came to me when I saw walnut perfectly broken into two shells. I thought to myself that it could be used as a little box to contain a secret message. And thenÂ it hit me! It would be such a cute gift to write down a summery of the relationship, pointing out specialÂ occasions,Â shared phrases and long lost memories, using a nutshell as the box.Â Hence, “Our Friendship in aÂ Nutshell”.

Once I thought of the idea it wasÂ obviousÂ which friend is going toÂ receiveÂ it, my oldest friend. Going back almost a year and a half ago, I wrote a post about a gift IÂ receivedÂ from my oldest friend, using a shared phrase that became sort ofÂ legendary phrase among our friends: Tuna Fish Need Love. I think that the “friendshipÂ in a nutshell” gift is similar in concept to the book she made me, since both gifts are like a time capsule of memories. It was so much fun trying to remember all the silly things we did together.(Initially I thought about using pictures but then IÂ realizedÂ that they would come out too small and probably won’t fit in the nutshell).

This is a quite simple DIY project. Follow these few simple steps:

Step 1: Break a walnut into two pieces

Step 2: Coat it with a color of your choice. I used gold leafs, but I think that a simple acrylic color would be just as good.

step 3: This is the tricky part. I wanted to be able to open and close the nutshell. At first I though about using a hinge, but that was too small. So I took a piece of ribbon and glued it to the inner side of one of the shells. This way I was able to tie the twoÂ pieces together in order to open and close the nutshell.

Step 4: Print out a small note with the friendship description and in aÂ separateÂ thin piece of paper the phrase “our friendship in a nutshell”.Â Roll the note up like a little scroll and use another string of paper, to keep the note rolled. I simply glued one end to the other, making enough room to slip the scroll in.

Step 5: Place the note inside the nutshell, allowing the thin paper with the phrase to stick out. Tie the ribbon in a pretty bow and there you have it! Your friendship in a nutshell.

Step 6: Hide the nut in a bag full of nuts and give to your friend.

I made this for a close friend but this really is a wonderful anniversary gift for your husband/wife, niece/nephew, Parent, teacher or anyone sharing a long history that can be described in a nutshell. Since it’s small, you can give it as a keepsake for a traveling loved one. It is a great gift for the end of the year or a newÂ beginning.

Most importantly it is real easy to make and although it’s cheep and easy to make, it’s actually priceless.

Life in the digital world is getting easier in almost every aspect of life. It’s getting hard to think about a world without emails, Facebook, blogs, Apps and well,Â basicallyÂ the internet. In this digital world there are many websites and applications that are trying to help us deal with theÂ elusiveÂ task of gifting, not to mention blogs such as this one. Here are three examples for such wonderful sites which hold a promise for an easier givingÂ experience.

Wantful,Â is a personalized pop-up shop that you create for your recipient. After answering a few questions regarding style, relation to the recipient and your budget, you choose sixteen products which are presented in a cute little gift book. All your recipient needs to do is unwrap it, decide which product they love most, and the product will be sent to them. Wantful is a great website, it is user friendly, well designed and actually fun to use. They really managed to turn the giftingÂ experienceÂ to something you would like to do. If you want toÂ experienceÂ it without actually buying the gift, you can go through the process withoutÂ checkingÂ out. Try it, it’s fun.

Giftly, is an phone app thatÂ allowsÂ you to give experience’s such as a dinner at a restaurant, concert tickets or even a cupcake. I wish I could tell you how and if it works or not, unfortunately, this app isn’t available in Israel so I can’t check it out… But it sounds great! I love the idea of giving an experience rather than a gift. Imagine getting perks fro your friends on your birthday. You could go to different stores andÂ receive fun little gifts, ending the day with dinner and a movie all prepaid by your friends…Â Â I think this is what this app is all about, if it isn’t then that’s a great app idea.

Wishlistr, is a sort of PinterestÂ of gifts. You add links to products you would like to have, and share it with your friends. The idea is really cool, but IÂ wishÂ that the website was more like Pinterest,Â offering a more visual interface. Instead you have titles and links which are not very inspiring and not easy to follow. However, I like the idea of letting people know what you would like toÂ receiveÂ other than have everyone guessing.

Now allÂ that isÂ left for you to do is go online and start giving without leaving your seat…

Among other properties, color is a key element in choosing a gift. Therefore, theÂ success of the gift may depend on that alone. This is why, when facing theÂ challengeÂ of finding a gift for a certain someone,Â I would advise you to find out which colors this person likes or more importantly dislikes. In order toÂ find out which color’s oneÂ prefers, you should notice which colors s/he likes to wear, which colors s/he use for accessories and which color’s they decorate their home. Then coordinate the gift accordingly when buying cloths accessories or home decor. Soon enough you would find out that most people dress in black, the majority do it since it is the easiest most slimming effortless solution for cloths, other’sÂ simplyÂ love black. In either case, when in doubt both black and white are the safe option.

It’s been a while since I featured a kitâ€¦ So I was very excited when an opportunity came to make one. I believe that I shared my love for kits already in previous posts, but I really do think that a kit is a great way to personalize a gift. The nice thing about this particular kit is that everything in it is bought; therefore you don’t need any crafting skills in order to create it.

The occasion:

My niece had her 12th birthday yesterday, which is called a Bat Mitzvah (in Hebrew), and is the Jewish coming of age (The age for boys is 13 and is called a Bar Mitzvah). Since the Bat Mitzvah party (which is a big deal in Israel, sort of like a sweet 16), got delayed due to a knee injury my niece had, my mother wanted to make myÂ her granddaughterÂ happy on her special day. She came up with the idea to send her a beauty kit and since she is still too young to start wearing makeup, we decided to mix and match some beauty products that would make her feel pampered.1. Wicker basket 2. Lip gloss 3. Mirror and brush 4. Heart Shaped Bath Bomb 5. Glittering Body Powder 6. Eye MaskÂ 7. Perfumed Oil 8. Bubble Bath

We found a great “Girls Beauty Line” at LalineÂ and hand picked the items into a lovely wicker basket. Since my niece was away, we left the basket on her bed, so she will have a nice surprise when she returned. As a grwon women, I was given similar gifts along the years… And although I know this isn;t the most original gift, sometimes, the most simple idea is the best one. Besides, since it was given to a 12 years old,Â I was able toÂ use the fun, pink and girlyÂ factorÂ and also useÂ some glitter, glitterÂ always upgrades a gift.

Yesterday I realized that today is our second anniversary!!! oops! I totally forgot about it and didn’t have anything ready… Some gift blogging wife am I! Thank god for the internet for quick solutions. I justÂ Googled “anniversary gift for husband” and found a great gift on Etsy: The Eye Exam Chart Print.Â Â I like a simple design like this one, the idea is smart and strong, the concept is simpleÂ enough: at first glance this looks like your average eye exam, but when you read into it you find a secret message hidden inside. Don’t you just love hidden messages???

Since I had no time whatsoever, I couldn’t order this online and had to make my own version. Luckily I had all the supplies. I needed a frame, colors, the print itself, (which you can DIY with Word, Power Point, Illustrator or Photoshop and print in black and white).

Making the gift myself gave me the freedom to check different text options, which was good since I wasn’t sure on how I wanted to phrase theÂ sentence. You know how you use sentences differently with different people… Well, even though this sentence is Â weirdly written, it is the outcome of the common language that my love and I share.

Since the first thing my husband does in the morning is sit by his desk andÂ browseÂ the internet, I decided that the best way to give him this gift would be to leave it at his desk.Â This way it is the first thing he will see in the morning. Since he wakes up before me I had to sneak it into his den at night and leave it for him to find. The surprise was almost revealed since he went to close the computer before we went to bed, butÂ fortunatelyÂ he didn’t notice that something was different.

I forgot to mention an important fact that made this giftÂ extraÂ personal. My dear husband has a condition that requires eyeÂ physiotherapy, hence, he has to goÂ throughÂ the eye exam every few weeks in order to check if the treatment works. When he saw the frame at his desk in theÂ morning, he initially Â thought I was mocking him, but when he looked closely, and read the message, he realized that it was a loving gesture.

Keep in mind that I made this for our anniversary, but given the rightÂ wording,Â this gift can work for almost anyÂ occasionÂ and anyone. Just use your imagination and personalize it any way you like.

I love browsing Etsy for gift ideas as it is a great place to findÂ inspiration. Check out these cute necklaces…Whether for a birthday, holiday or a farewell gift, these serve as a perfect token for a beloved sister.